216C: Wealthy man spends all money and then must live as begger

I am trying to find a SHORT STORY I read in the 1950s:
“(Possibly) in the late Victorian era, two gentlemen espy a beggar sitting in the street. One tells the other the story of the beggar. He was once a wealthy man, but was disturbed that when he eventually died he would leave behind at least part of his fortune, which he would not have enjoyed himself. He either did not believe in inherited wealth, or had no worthy heirs, I am unsure. He therefore calculated how much he needed every year to continue enjoying the life to which he had become accustomed. He then assessed his total assets, divided them by the annual need, and determined the date upon which he would be down to his last penny. He then vowed that he would live life to the full, and then kill himself on that date. Inevitably, when the fateful day came, he could not bring himself to go through with it, and was doomed to spend the rest of his life as a beggar”.
Many thanks in anticipation of any help identifying this.

216B: being nice (Solved)

about a boy who (i think) trips over his dog coming down the stairs in the morning, makes him mad, so he is mean to everyone all day. The book shows how the anger/meanness is spread from person to person. It then show either the next day, or an alternate reaction and how niceness and kindness is spread to everyone. (I think maybe in the negative day it spreads around until it comes back to him and someone is sharp/mean to him) I read this book in my local library at least 19 years ago.

216A:Big Blue Book of Children’s Stories

In the 1950s I was in the hospital and my grandmother gave me a book that she read to me every day. I was around seven-years-old at that time. It had a blue hardcover with black lettering. It had stories like “Billy Goats Gruff”, “Why the Bear had a Stumpy Tail”, “Town Musicians of Bremen”, and “Shingabis and the North Wind”. I do not remember the title of the book, but wish to find it to give it to my daughter for her children. I can still repeat the Shingabis story almost word for word as I had to have that story read to me every day.

215E: 2 cousins looking for lost gold mine

Young Adult book about 2 estranged cousins who team up on a ranch to hunt for a lost family gold mine. One of the cousins breaks his leg at some point. They find secret messages inside canes that when wrapped around the handles form letters. They eventually find one of their ancestors dead in a cave. There was something about Archimedes as well and using water displacement as a measure I think. Read it in the early 80s but no idea how old it was.

215D: Messy Goat Brothers (children’s book)

This is a surprise for my girlfriend, so I’m dealing w/scant details. Several goat brothers (or siblings, there may have been girl goats as well) are pictured in a kitchen with a sink full of unwashed dishes. An enormous pile of unwashed dishes. It seems to have been a book about teaching kids responsibility. This would have been available in the late 60s or early 70s.

I’d appreciate any help you could provide. Thanks in advance.

214E: Guy falls for a girl with a dog (Solved)

Guy falls for a girl with a dog, eventually they breakup. I read the book in around 2002 and believe it was a new release at the time. It’s told from the perspective of a guy and think the author was male. He meets a girl who has a dog (I’m pretty sure it was a dachshund) and they start a relationship. She was quirky and did things like carry a pocket vocabulary book with her on the bus (maybe subway or train). Eventually they break up and he is devastated but realizes that he put her on pedestal. Alas, I can’t remember anything else. Any help would be appreciated, it’s been driving me crazy trying to figure this out.

The cover of the book has a picture of the dog, which is probably a dachshund.

It would be so amazing if you can find this book!!!

214D: amusement park or maze on cover

Children’s/pre-teen book, under 200 pages. The cover was white and I’m imagining either an amusement park or maze on it. I’m picturing red (lettering, maybe), too? I keep thinking the title has “joker” or “game” in it. I read it in the 1980s, so published then or earlier. I don’t remember much of what it was about, but it was probably a fantasy-type book kind of like “A Wrinkle in Time”, “Neverending Story”, Labyrinth (the movie w/David Bowie)….
I wish I could provide more details If you figure this out, I will love you forever. I LOVED this book!